On the stage, the sound of piano rang out.
Several graceful women wearing gauze, including Niao Niao Nana, walked out from the backstage and began to dance to the music.
There was a lot of cheers from the audience.
Someone was shouting, "Miss Tang, please ask Miss Huayue to come out and meet us."
Someone agreed.
Some people laughed: "You are not qualified."
Luo Qingzhou didn't dare to look at the stage, so he turned his head and looked out the window.
It was already evening, and the setting sun was slightly drunk.
The lake is reflecting the sunset, and the waves are sparkling.
The small boat that was following was still swaying not far away.
Behind that boat, there was another boat with a woman standing at the bow who looked quite familiar.
"Princess, that person seems to be Aunt Mu."
Luo Qingzhou suddenly said.
Nangong Meijiao turned her head and glanced out the window, then suddenly looked at him and said, "Is your eyesight so good? I can't see clearly."
Luo Qingzhou paused, still looking outside, and said calmly: "I have had good eyesight since I was a child, maybe it's innate. Just like when I read a book, I can remember it after reading it a few times."
Nangong Meijiao stared at him for a few more seconds before looking at the small boat following him outside the window. She said, "It seems they are still unwilling to give up. How about waiting until dark and letting them taste the lime? What do you think?"
Luo Qingzhou looked at her and said, "Will it be dangerous for the princess to act alone?"
Nangong Meijiao also looked at him and said, "Didn't I give you a bag of lime? You can go with me then."
The two looked at each other.
Luo Qingzhou said: "I won't lie."
Nangong Meijiao said calmly: "It's okay, you can practice tonight. With me by your side to guide you, you should be able to learn it quickly."
Luo Qingzhou avoided his gaze and looked outside.
Nangong Meijiao still stared at him.
At this moment, Tang Yan'er suddenly came over with a smile on her face and said, "Mr. Luo, can you come with me to the backstage?"
Luo Qingzhou looked at her, but before she could say anything, Nangong Meijiao suddenly said, "I wrote that poem, so I should go, right?"
Tang Yan'er smiled and said, "Miss Gong, please sit for a while. I have a girl here who has admired Master Luo for a long time. She just learned that Master Luo is on board and she really wants to meet him."
Nangong Meijiao looked at someone opposite her and asked, "Do you want to go?"
Luo Qingzhou apologized to Tang Yan'er, "Miss Tang, I won't go. My wife is very strict and won't let me see strange women. You also know that I am a son-in-law and I have no choice."
After these words came out, Tang Yan'er was stunned for a moment, glanced at the girl opposite him, and said: "Didn't Mr. Luo's wife not come?"
Luo Qingzhou pursed his lips towards the opposite side: "She is my wife's best friend."
Tang Yan'er was startled for a moment, then immediately understood. She looked at Nangong Meijiao and said with a smile, "Miss Gong, don't worry. I'm just taking Young Master Luo to have a talk. I will never do anything out of line."
Nangong Meijiao said calmly, "Don't tell me. It has nothing to do with me. Ask him if he is willing to go."
Tang Yan'er said: "Mr. Luo..."
"I don't want to."
Luo Qingzhou directly refused and said, "Sorry, Miss Tang."
Tang Yan'er frowned slightly, glanced at the two of them again, and said with a smile without saying anything more: "Then I'll go and reply."
After saying that, he turned and left.
After she walked away, Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and looked under the table.
The two long legs under the purple skirt had stretched out to his side, and the two feet were stepping on his two feet.
Luo Qingzhou said nothing, but lowered his head and watched motionlessly.
After a while.
Nangong Meijiao finally couldn't help but asked, "What are you looking at?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "Look at the feet."
"abnormal!"
Nangong Meijiao's two feet immediately retracted and hid under her dress, looming, and her eyes glared at him.
Luo Qingzhou looked up at her and said, "Princess, I'm looking at my own feet. Is this considered abnormal?"
Nangong Meijiao narrowed her eyes and looked at him dangerously.
Luo Qingzhou turned his head and looked outside, saying, "Aunt Mu is here. I wonder if she has found the stalker on the boat."
Nangong Meijiao glanced outside, frowned, and a look of confusion appeared on her face: "I asked her to wait on the shore, why did she come here?"
Then he stood up and said, "I'll go out and take a look."
After taking a few steps, she suddenly turned around and looked at him, saying coldly: "Luo Qingzhou, if I come back later and find that you are not here, where do you think I will scatter the more than fifty bags of lime on me?"
After saying that, he gave him a warning look, then walked away quickly with his long legs.
Luo Qingzhou watched her walk out of the cabin, reached out and took out the handkerchief from his bosom, and then carefully recalled her expression and words, thinking secretly: Have you begun to doubt? Was she testing me just now
As I was thinking, I suddenly heard footsteps behind me.
He put away his handkerchief, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and looked out the window.
But suddenly, he felt a chill coming from behind him, as if something was invading his body and spying on his soul.
He remained calm and continued looking out the window.
The noisy sounds in the hall suddenly became eerily quiet.
A fragrant breeze suddenly blew over.
Then, a young girl stood in front of him and said softly, "My name is Huayue, nice to meet you, Master Luo."
The voice is gentle and pleasant to hear.
Luo Qingzhou turned his head and saw the girl in front of him, who was wearing a pink dress and looked quite pretty. She was looking at him with sparkling eyes.
But Luo Qingzhou didn't look at her any more, his eyes looked behind her.
A maidservant in blue stood behind her. When she saw him looking at her, she met his gaze and immediately lowered her head, looking timid.
However, Luo Qingzhou inexplicably had a creepy feeling.
"Master Luo, can Huayue sit down?"
The girl in the pink skirt whispered.
Luo Qingzhou looked at her and said, "Miss Huayue, my young lady will be here soon. If you have anything to say, you can just say it."
At this moment, angry accusations suddenly came from the hall.
"Who is that person? Miss Huayue took the initiative to go to see him, but he just sat there without moving."
"Even those talented people in Jiangnan wouldn't be so arrogant, right?"
"Miss Huayue is indeed very beautiful. I finally got to see her today. It was all thanks to that boy. Otherwise, Miss Huayue probably wouldn't have come out..."
Huayue looked at the handsome young man in front of her, took out the rice paper in her hand and said, "Master Luo, this little poem just now should have been written by you, right?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "My young lady wrote it."
Huayue smiled gently, her eyebrows full of charm, and said softly: "Sir, can you move to my study? I want to talk to you."
When the other people in the hall heard this, their eyes turned red, their faces filled with envy and jealousy, and they wished they could stand up and go in his place immediately.
Luo Qingzhou stood up and said, "Sorry, I still need to go out and accompany my young lady."
After saying this, he immediately left quickly and walked out of the cabin, ignoring the stunned looks of the girl and others.
Aunt Mu’s boat had already approached the pleasure boat.
Nangong Meijiao jumped up and was talking in a low voice to Aunt Mu.
When Luo Qingzhou walked to the side of the ship, Nangong Meijiao looked at him in surprise and asked, "Why did you come out?"
Luo Qingzhou hurriedly whispered: "Princess, catch me, I want to jump up."
After saying that, he jumped directly into the boat.
Nangong Meijiao was stunned for a moment. Just as she was about to reach out to take it, she suddenly retracted her hand.
"Bang!"
Luo Qingzhou landed on the boat, but suddenly staggered forward and was about to fall into the cabin, but Aunt Mu grabbed him.
After Luo Qingzhou stood firm, he looked frightened and said quickly, "Thank you, Aunt Mu."
Nangong Meijiao looked suspicious and asked, "Luo Qingzhou, why are you panicking? Did you see a ghost?"
Before Luo Qingzhou could say anything, Huayue had already chased him out and stood at the side of the boat, crying, "Master Luo, Huayue just wants to talk to you, and has no other unreasonable thoughts. Master, are you unwilling to satisfy Huayue with this small request?"
Luo Qingzhou bowed and said, "Miss Huayue, I am a married man, and I cannot get too close to other women. If you are in a melon field or a plum tree, you will always attract criticism. I'm sorry."
He glanced at the maid in green behind her and whispered to Aunt Mu beside her: "Aunt Mu, let the boatman go."
Aunt Mu glanced at him, then looked at her young lady.
Nangong Meijiao said coldly: "Let's go."
Aunt Mu immediately went over and gave instructions to the boatman.
The boatman agreed, paddled the bamboo pole, and began to move the boat backwards and turn the bow.
Luo Qingzhou went straight into the cabin.
Nangong Meijiao glanced at the charming woman standing at the side of the ship again, then turned and entered the cabin, saying sarcastically, "Why are you so self-conscious today?"
Luo Qingzhou glanced outside and said, "She invited me to her room to talk, and I was scared."
After hearing this, Nangong Meijiao couldn't help but chuckle, and then snorted coldly: "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that someone will eat you?"
Even Aunt Mu next to her started laughing.
Luo Qingzhou said nothing more.
Nangong Meijiao sneered: "I'm just talking to you, Luo Qingzhou, I'm afraid you're overthinking it. No matter how talented you are, I may not be willing to marry you."
Luo Qingzhou looked at her and said, "Princess, how about I go up again?"
Nangong Meijiao raised her eyebrows and said, "You can try."
Luo Qingzhou didn't say anything else. He looked at the green figure gradually moving away at the side of the ship, with the hairs on his back still standing up.
At this time, the sun was about to set.
The light on the lake began to dim.
The boat turned and headed towards the shore where it came from.
Aunt Mu glanced back and whispered, "Miss, they are still following us. Do you want to deal with them?"
Nangong Meijiao asked, "They don't know what happened on the shore yet, right?"
Aunt Mu said, "I don't think he knows, otherwise he would have gone back a long time ago."
Luo Qingzhou asked curiously: "What happened on the shore?"
Nangong Meijiao glanced at him and said, "Actually, there were three people following us. One of them was the one who played football with us in the palace this morning. He was on Zhang Yan'er's team, but he was killed on the shore just now."
Luo Qingzhou was surprised: "Who killed him?"
Then he reacted, looked at the woman opposite him and said, "Is it Aunt Mu?"
Aunt Mu shook her head and said solemnly, "I don't know who killed him. When I found him, I was watching him from across the street, but he suddenly fell to the ground with his head and body separated. I didn't see the murderer or the weapon at all."
Luo Qingzhou thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that there is a warrior standing in the distance, using a hidden weapon?"
Nangong Meijiao glanced at him.
Aunt Mu said, "I thought so too. But the other party is a warrior. I don't know what hidden weapon could cut off his head without anyone noticing."
Luo Qingzhou said, "I once read a martial arts novel. One of the hidden weapons in the novel is an extremely sharp silk thread. It is transparent and hard to see, and can kill people without being seen. As long as the speed is fast enough, it will be as sharp as a sword, and it will be easy to cut off a person's head."
Aunt Mu looked at him and said, "Mr. Luo knows a lot. But warriors are not ordinary people. Their skin, muscles, and bones all have strong defensive power, but silk thread may not be able to do that."
Luo Qingzhou said "Oh" and stopped talking nonsense.
Nangong Meijiao looked at him for a while and said, "Luo Qingzhou, think about how to get rid of the pursuers behind you. These two people cannot be killed for the time being. Let them go back and tell the person in the palace about the death of the man on the shore. Maybe she can be quiet for a while. After all, the man's death was very strange."
Luo Qingzhou glanced at the shore and said, "Actually, there's no need to think of another way. Once they get to the shore and see the man's body, they will naturally stop following us."
Nangong Meijiao raised her head and looked towards the shore.
Although a long time had passed, the shore was still crowded with people, and the man's beheaded body seemed to still be lying there.
The government officials have arrived and are still performing the autopsy and investigating the scene.
The boat soon reached the shore.
The three men went ashore, walked behind the crowd of onlookers, and looked inside. They saw blood all over the ground and the body had been covered with a white cloth.
The area within a radius of twenty meters was cleared and blocked.
The government officials were searching everywhere for clues, and someone climbed up the willow tree nearby to check carefully.
The two men who were following didn't know what was going on. After getting ashore, they also got behind the crowd and stretched their necks to watch the excitement.
When Wu Zuo lifted the white cloth, revealing a wide-eyed, bloody head, the two men were shocked all over and turned pale with fear.
"Let's go."
Nangong Meijiao glanced at the two of them, then turned and walked across the street.
The three of them got on the carriage and left quickly.
By the time the two men reacted, the carriage had disappeared into the busy street.
The carriage soon arrived at Maple Leaf Alley, but did not go in.
Nangong Meijiao took out a porcelain bottle and handed it to Luo Qingzhou, saying solemnly, "This is the morning dew of the Xuantian Jade Girl Tree that Xiaoxin gave me. You can take it back. I won't go over. My carriage is too conspicuous. I have to go back to the inner city. You must not run around these few days. Go back and tell Wei Mo everything that happened today, and tell everyone not to go out for the time being. I will send someone to check the situation. If there is any news, I will inform you."
Luo Qingzhou took the porcelain bottle and said, "Thank you, Princess."
Just as she was about to go down, Nangong Meijiao suddenly said, "Practice what I taught you at home, and I will come to check when the time comes."
Luo Qingzhou nodded, got off the carriage, looked around, and quickly walked into the alley.
In the carriage, the curtains were drawn back.
Nangong Meijiao was in the carriage, quietly looking at his back, and suddenly asked: "Auntie Mu, Luo Qingzhou took a bath in the palace today. Where are the dirty clothes he changed out of?"
Aunt Mu was stunned for a moment when she heard this and said, "It should have been thrown away by the palace maid."
Nangong Meijiao said nothing more.
Aunt Mu glanced at her and said, "What are you doubting, young lady?"
Nangong Meijiao looked at the empty alley, was silent for a while, and murmured: "I don't know either."
Aunt Mu glanced at the darkening sky and said, "Miss, it's time to go."
Nangong Meijiao lowered the curtains and said, "Let's go."
The carriage slowly drove out of the alley.
After a moment, Nangong Meijiao's voice suddenly came from the carriage: "Auntie Mu, let's go to the pharmacy later."
Aunt Mu was slightly startled when she heard this, and asked in confusion, "What medicine does Miss want to buy?"
Nangong Meijiao said: "Poison powder, drug."
Then he added, "Let's go to the grocery store. I want to buy a gas mask and some black iron wire."
Aunt Mu was stunned for a moment, and said: "Miss, buy these..."
"Don't worry, I won't use it on ordinary people. These are hidden weapons that can take people's lives. I know their severity."
"Miss, do you really believe what that boy said? Can silk thread take a person's head?"
There was silence in the carriage.
Then he said, "Believe it."